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determined to relax. She wouldn’t be any help to Tara if she became agitated herself. Inhaling deeply, she let the restful scents of pine and juniper and the soft whisper of wind work their magic. That was a good explanation for Tara wanting to meet out here -- the land Jen and her husbands owned was blessed by the Goddess, their mountainside a welcoming sanctuary of rest and renewal for both beast and man. Tara had made remarks in the past, comments that led Jen to believe she knew more about the Blakes than she let on. Perhaps she knew about the Goddess, too. Maybe she just wanted to stay here a while, to rest and heal, both body and soul. Losing a baby…Jenny pressed her hands over her belly protectively, unable to imagine the grief.
    She heard a motor and watched Tara’s car toil up the long, steeply sloped gravel-over-packed-earth drive. When she pulled up in front of the house, Jen saw that she was driving Marshall’s small Nissan, his around-town car. Hmm. Interesting.
    Tara opened the car door and squeezed out from behind the wheel. She shut it and pressed a button on Marshall’s key to lock the doors, though it was hardly necessary up here.
    Jen supposed it was force of habit.

    40 Rachel Bo
    The woman shook her head, her auburn curls burnished by the sun as she climbed the porch steps. “I don’t understand how a woman almost ready to deliver can be smaller than someone only six months pregnant.”
    “I’m not!” Jen insisted. “You’re seeing things, girl.” She patted the seat of the swing.
    “Come on. Sit with me.”
    Tara lowered herself onto the swing and sat back with a sigh, letting her gaze travel over the mountainside. Cheerful birdsong and the rustling of small animals in the leaves beneath shedding trees surrounded them. “God, this place is beautiful. I knew coming up here would make me feel better.”
    Jen put an arm around her shoulders. “What is it, Tara?”
    “I don’t even know where to start.” Her best friend stared at her hands, fingers twisting in her lap.
    “Why don’t you start at the beginning?”
    Tara sighed. “Okay, then…New Orleans. I met these two men. Brothers.” She turned her head, smiled a rueful smile. “Twins.”
    Jenny wasn’t surprised, though her heart did speed up a bit as her suspicions seemed about to be validated. “Let me guess.” She swallowed, nervous at taking the plunge, but also excited by the possibility of finally being able to share her own secret with her best friend. It was an awful risk, possibly putting Damien and Devlin and her own children in harm’s way, but… She took a deep breath, deciding to have faith in her instincts. She loved and trusted Tara and had always felt her friend knew more about Jenny’s husbands than she’d ever admitted. “They were weyrwolves.”
    Tara nodded. “I had a feeling you’d understand what I was getting at.” She swallowed hard. “Wow, it’s a relief to feel like I can finally be completely honest with you. You have no idea how hard it was not to talk to you about what really went on in New Orleans.” She shot a curious, sidelong glance at her friend. “Are you…” She raised her eyebrows questioningly.
    “I’m half-weyr.” Encouraged by Tara’s quiet acceptance, she continued. “I didn’t know it, though, until Damien and Devlin told me. My mom hid it from me, while I was growing up. My dad’s human, and she seemed to think I’d be happier living a more normal life.” She glanced around, grinning. “You see how that turned out.”
    “Can you…you know, change?”
    Jenny shook her head. “Half-weyr can’t do that. Mostly, we have heightened senses, more stamina, better reflexes, and a stronger resistance to disease than full humans, but I’m not all that different from you.”
    Tara must have seen the concern in her eyes. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to become afraid of you.” She glanced away guiltily. “I used to follow them, when we were younger.
    Damien and